My 2nd Attempt at a Zippered, Gathered Clutch

I decided last night to make another attempt at a zippered, gathered clutch. This time however, I decided to follow the instructions just a liiiiittle bit better. If you recall, the last time I tried making one, it turned out pretty alright, it just didn't have a pocket inside, I didn't do the lining right so you could see the seams on the inside and the strap wasn't quite right (it started fraying pretty bad):

Original post here : My First Zippered Pouch/Wristlet

It was however my first attempt at a gather and only my 2nd ever attempt at a zipper!! I believe it may also have been the first time I put a strap on anything too?

Anywho, last night I decided I should try making something that ISN'T perlers and something that I could maybe actually use! I again pulled up the awesome tutorial over at Noodlehead  and decided to follow the instructions for doing not only the lining properly, but also the band across the front.

For the 1st attempt I did, I folded under the edge of the strip and stitched that down, and THEN attached it to the pouch front. If I'd only read the instructions better, I would have seen that you're supposed to fold the strip over length-wise, stitch, turn inside out and then with the seam in the middle of the underside, you stitch the sides down. This process is much cleaner and much nicer!!

I also pulled out my instruction manual for my sewing machine for the first time ever that I can recall in the 10 or so years I've had it!! I had to look up how to change out to my zipper foot (first time using it and I kinda like it!) and also double-check how to change the tension for the gathering stitch. I don't think I ever realized that it should always be at 4 when I do normal stitching on projects and the process goes much smoother and quicker! D'oh!!

I am so excited I was able to stick some card pockets in here though! I aaaalmost didn't do them but decided at the last minute, why not!!

The only thing with this guy is I got so excited to get the fabric stitched down as close as I could to the zipper, that I kinda went too close to the zipper in a couple parts. I fixed what I could with doing a stitch on top of the fabric at the zipper's edge while pulling it as tight as I could and it helps, but it's still a little hard to not get the fabric stuck in a couple small spots.

All in all, I am really happy with this finished product and I can't wait to make some more!! What do you guys think?!

Craft ya laters!!